1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to a discovery method, and an electronic device thereof, and more particularly, to a proximity network configuration method in which each of electronic devices constituting a cluster through a proximity network shares active duration information of a Discovery Window (DW) which is configured differently or changed, and can effectively transmit/receive a signal on a basis of the shared active duration information, and an electronic device thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is ongoing development on various types of proximity communication services using a near field communication technique. For example, there is ongoing development on a proximity communication service which can configure a proximity network between neighboring electronic devices and can exchange data through the proximity network.
The proximity communication service may be a low power proximity communication service, for example, using a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon or the like, and may use a Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN) communication standard based on a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).
The proximity communication service is a service using a proximity network which changes dynamically. For example, in an NAN communication, a set of electronic devices constituting a proximity network may be called a cluster.
For an electronic device which intends to join a cluster, at least one electronic device in the cluster must transmit a signal for reporting the existence of the cluster, and the electronic device which intents to join the cluster must receive the signal.
A signal for discovering a cluster may be transmitted by all electronic devices in the cluster or may be transmitted by some electronic devices in the cluster. The electronic devices that transmit a signal for discovering a cluster may consume relatively more power than electronic devices that do not transmit a signal for discovering a cluster due to the transmission of the signal for discovering a cluster.
Even if some electronic devices transmit a signal for discovering a cluster, other electronic devices may not be able to receive the signal. For example, each electronic device in a cluster may configure an active duration capable of transmitting/receiving a signal for discovering a cluster differently to decrease power consumption.
In an NAN communication, an active duration capable of transmitting/receiving a signal for discovering a cluster may be called a Discovery Window (DW). For example, even if some electronic devices transmit the signal for discovering a cluster, another electronic device may not receive the signal transmitted by some of the electronic devices if it is not a duration in which a DW of the other electronic device is active.